title: Octogenarians in the ICU: are you ever too old?
abstract: Long-term morbidity and mortality rates for older patients admitted to the ICU remain substantial. In this issue of Critical Care, Roch and colleagues describe a retrospective study evaluating factors associated with survival and quality-of-life of octogenarians (aged ≥80 years) admitted to a medical ICU. This study proposes to address a highly relevant and increasingly encountered scenario in ICUs - what factors can best estimate prognosis for elderly patients at the time of evaluation for ICU admission? While perhaps not unique to octogenarians, such data have the potential to better inform on decision-making regarding advanced life support along with facilitating discussion on the perceived benefit and on patient treatment preferences concerning intensive care.
authors.affiliation: Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Alberta Hospital, University of Alberta, 3C1,12 Walter C Mackenzie Centre, 8440-112 St NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2B7.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: McDermid
authors.forename: Sean M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bagshaw
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*